BOBBY ROBSON has assured England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson that he won't jeopardise Kieron Dyer's World Cup hopes for the sake of Newcastle's end-of-season crusade.

Bionic man Dyer is back in the Magpies' squad for today's visit of his old club Ipswich, seven weeks after being sidelined with a worrying foot stress fracture.

Manager Robson admits he is amazed by Dyer's fitness level after the best part of two months without a game of any sort.

But the United boss is adamant that the £20m-rated midfielder will only be pitched "into the deep end" when Newcastle are satisfied that the danger of him breaking down is minimal.

That will almost certainly be in a week's time when United face Arsenal at Highbury for their high-noon FA Cup quarter-final replay.

Robson is erring on the side of caution, despite suggestions from within St James' Park this week that Dyer could play up front today alongside skipper Alan Shearer.

Dyer is likely to be on the bench, even though United have suffered a new injury blow with midfielder Jamie McClen out for two to three weeks with a torn calf sustained in training.

Gary Speed has still not quite recovered from a hamstring injury, but £5m new boy Jermaine Jenas - ineligible for the drawn Cup clash with Arsenal a week ago - is set to step in for McClen and partner Clarence Acuna, while Carl Cort will keep his place in attack.

Robson said: "Dyer is back in business and I'm delighted, but I have to do right by him.

"Hopefully, he'll play a lot of football for us between now and the end of the season and, based on that, Sven will decide whether he's right for the World Cup.

"I've never known anyone like Kieron. He's only a spelk - a decimal point - but he has this phenomenal heart and lung capacity where he can run all day, and he's very quick as well.

"He has speed of limb and speed of brain. He's clever in his running and distribution. He's a high-activity player who makes a difference. He's a special player and a match-winner.

"He's won matches for us in the last 15 minutes with his pace and energy. Where he gets it from, I don't know.

"Normally, when a player has been out for seven or eight weeks with a stress fracture, I would ask him to play at least two reserve matches.

"But Kieron is one of the guys who doesn't need a lot of training. He's phenomenally fit naturally. He's been buzzing this week, but he hasn't played for nearly two months so we have to be very careful with him.

"All he needs now is to play. I'm going to have to throw him into the deep end fairly quickly and he has more than a chance of being in the deep end at Arsenal next Saturday.

"He has his own little ambitions, he knows the World Cup is coming up.

"But we have to reintroduce him properly and intelligently. I'm only interested in what he can do for Newcastle, but I know that by doing that we help England anyway.

"We've got ten games at least to play and, if we're not careful about playing him at the right time, he could pick up another injury and break down again.

"He's training every day, but I'm glad I didn't risk him last Saturday against Arsenal because the midfield did well.

"He's in a healthier position than he was last Friday and he's in the squad. With Jermaine Jenas not available next week, and McClen injured, Dyer's comeback is crucial to us.

"Another week will do him a lot of good. He'll be better equipped to play against Arsenal."

Robson admitted that Dyer could be a frontline option at a later date as United chase a Champions' League place.

"He's played there before and did all right," said Robson.

"But his best position is midfield and our resources are thin there at the moment - losing McClen is a crushing blow.

"Carl Cort will get better - people have to remember he had ten months out. I'm going to persevere with him. I'm keeping him very much in mind. He's had two starts and to leave him out would just set him back again.

"But I've got Shola Ameobi, Lomana Lualua and Dyer as a possibility to play off Shearer."

Robson takes charge of United for the 100th time in the Premiership against his old club Ipswich, who are fighting for their top-flight lives.

"There's no sentiment in it for me, but I hope they get the points they need to stay up," said Robson. "They still mean a lot to me."

Two more milestones in the Magpies' camp see defender Nikos Dabizas make his 100th Premiership start, while winger Nolberto Solano clocks up his 150th start for United in all competitions.

* Talks aimed at bringing Pavel Srnicek back to Newcastle from Italian side Brescia on a short-term contract have broken down after the Czech keeper was told he would be third choice behind Shay Given and Steve Harper.

With John Karelse still a month short of fitness after knee problems, United will place their faith in 17-year-old Adam Collin as cover

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